Iraq's PM Maliki in Iran for security talks

TEHRAN, Aug 8 (Reuters) Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki held talks in Iran today, seeking to shore up security at home, where his government is crumbling and facing US criticism for not doing enough to end sectarian strife.

Maliki's spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh had said before the trip that security would be high on the agenda in Iran, an important political player in Iraq since the 2003 US invasion.

The Shi'ite-led Iraqi government is under pressure to secure a power-sharing deal among the country's divided sectarian groups before a US report in September on strategy in Iraq.

The visit comes two days after Iraqi, Iranian and US officials held the first meeting of a committee aimed at improving cooperation on stabilising Iraq.

That committee was formed after groundbreaking talks in May and July, also in Baghdad, between Washington and Tehran, their most high-profile meetings since diplomatic ties were cut shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

The United States accuses Iran of stoking violence in Iraq, while Tehran blames the US occupation. Iraq has urged both countries not to fight out their differences on Iraqi soil.

''The bluntness and the firmness Iran showed in these negotiations (with Washington) ... eventually showed that Iraq can play an influential role in Iraq,'' Ali Akbar Velayati, an international affairs adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted by Iran's ISNA news agency as saying.

''Today they (US officials) are forced ... to ask for Iran's help, but these negotiations are not aimed at helping America. Iran entered talks to help the Iraqi people,'' he said.

SHARED INTERESTS Shi'ite Muslim Iran, which has some powerful friends among Iraq's leading political factions, wants a stable neighbour with a friendly Shi'ite government in power. For the United States, a secure Iraq could help hasten its own withdrawal.

But Iranian analysts caution against overstating Tehran's ability to stem the violence.

''Iran definitely has some influence in Iraq and sometimes this influence is exaggerated. People sometimes say Iran has control of many Shi'ite militias. But I think in fact Iran has limited influence,'' said one Iranian political analyst.

Maliki held talks with senior Iranian officials led by First Vice-President Parviz Davoudi. They discussed economic and other ties, Iranian state television said. The daily Kargozaran said Maliki would sign agreements on ''security-related issues''.

He was also due to meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday he was disappointed with the lack of progress on reconciliation by Maliki, whose government faces a crisis with 17 ministers -- almost half his cabinet -- quitting or staging boycotts.

Maliki flew to Iran from Turkey, where he pledged to crack down on Kurdish rebels who use northern Iraq as a base.

His visit to Iran also coincides with a two-day international security meeting on Iraq in Damascus, bringing together Iraq, the United States, Britain and Iran, which ends tomorrow.

REUTERS GT KN1824